INFORMATION ON THE WORK OF THE WAR MEMORIALS TRUST
War Memorials Trust
War Memorials Trust works for the protection and
conservation of war memorials within
the UK to ensure they remain part of our communities forever. War memorials commemorate our shared past, an
important part of our national culture.
War Memorials Trust seeks to cooperate with other
organisations, at both national and local level, to better safeguard the future
of war memorials in both their social and historical context. Please note that the Trust is unable to
provide advice or funding towards war graves.
War Memorials Trust
is an independent registered charity and
as such is dependent on voluntary income.
Conservation
The Trust has a dedicated Conservation Team that
can provide free advice on any memorial issue or technical conservation
enquiry. This service is available to
anyone with a memorial enquiry. The
Conservation Team can also advise on maintenance works and how to prevent
theft. The Trust’s website has extensive
information on conservation and repair and helpsheets on most general and
technical memorial issues: www.warmemorials.org/conservation-advice.
Grants
War Memorials Trust administers grant schemes which
cover the whole of the UK. Grants are for conservation and repair of
war memorials and all grant schemes are open to anyone to apply; individuals or
organisations, including councils.
Information on grants, eligibility and how to apply are available on the
Trust’s website: www.warmemorials.org/grants. The first stage of any funding enquiry is to
complete a ‘Grants Pre-application Form’, and this can be downloaded from the
website. Please
note that the Trust cannot provide funding retrospectively under any
circumstances.
Projects
The Trust is involved in a
number of projects which may be of assistance to those interested in, or
custodians of, war memorials:
This is a partnership between the
SmartWater Foundation and War Memorials Trust.
In Memoriam 2014 protects memorials at risk of theft or damage by
marking them with a forensic liquid called SmartWater. The crime prevention fluid, which is being
made available at no charge, will not only make memorials uniquely
identifiable, it also offers robust traceability should a theft occur. This will act as a significant deterrent to
those considering desecrating our war memorials by massively increasing their
chances of detection and subsequent arrest.
Further information and registration are available on the website: www.inmemoriam2014.org.
War
Memorials Online is run by War Memorials Trust and supported by English
Heritage. Working with the public, it is
the ambition of War Memorials Online to create the UK’s most comprehensive
understanding of war memorials. Members
of the public can browse current records and upload their own content, photos
and condition reports to help create a complete picture of the condition of all
war memorials across the country. For
further information please visit the website: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk.
In November 2010 War Memorials Trust
approached local authorities
across the UK to ask if they had a War Memorials Officer. A War Memorials Officer is the single,
or main, point
of contact at the council who deals with war memorial issues.
They are rarely called 'War Memorials Officer' within the local authority
structure as war memorials are just one part of their job, but War
Memorials Trust uses the phrase to identify the person who deals with war
memorials. Details of your local War
Memorials Officer can be found on the Trust’s website: www.warmemorials.org/wmo.
Learning
Launched in
August 2011, War Memorials Trust’s youth focused Learning Programme works to
educate today’s young people, the war memorial custodians of tomorrow, about
the significance of war memorials.
By investigating the
stories of those commemorated and discovering the fascinating history of local
war memorials, we hope young people in schools, and those involved in Cadets,
Scouting, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and youth groups, will be inspired to
continue to preserve our war memorial heritage.
More information is available on the Learning Programme website: www.learnaboutwarmemorials.org.
Contact
details
War Memorials Trust
2nd Floor
42a Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 0RE
www.warmemorials.org
Conservation: conservation@warmemorials.org,
020 7233 7356
Grants: grants@warmemorials.org, 020 7233 7356
Charity: info@warmemorials.org, 020 7834 0200 / 0300 123 0764
COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION
courtesy jusben@morguefile.com
The Commission, originally with "Imperial" in its title was set up by Royal Charter. It has been government policy since World War I to mark in the country of the serviceman's death a grave or headstone. The recent conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan has in most cases seen the return of the bodies of servicemen killed in the conflict mainly as it was feared that the memorials would be desecrated or the actual grave re-opened. The passage of the bodies of service personnel killed in action through the town of Wootton Bassett and the turnout of large crowds marking their respect has become a feature of British life. With cuts in service budgets from 2011 RAF Lyneham ceased to be used for the purpose and RAF Brize Norton will be used for the future repatriations.
The favoured stone was Portland but some of the inscriptions especially the regimental badges weathered badly and it was decided to use a limestone marble from Italy. The "milestone" markers are prepared in a stone works in France. The CWGC employ their own stonemasons and usually have a contract with local authorities or cemetery owners for grass to be mowed regularly and occasional washing down to remove algae etc. The graves or headstones in some cemeteries are lined up in one designated area but in many cemeteries and churchyards the graves are mixed in with civilian graves. Certain indentations such as clipped corners on the upper of the marker indicate an enemy prisoner of war and other variations such as Allied Force such as Russia, Poland etc. It is a long tradition for members of the Royal British Legion and supporters of service families to place a small cross of balsa wood with a red poppy on a serviceman's grave when a visit is made to a cemetery in the UK.
The face of the panel consists of the army. RN, RAF or Merchant Navy badge or crest, the name and number, regiment etc of the deceased, the optional use of a religious symbol and at the lower part the optional use of a phrase or quotation selected by the family. There is one known example where the family of a man shot for cowardice or desertion was asked by a CWGC if they wanted a personal or religious inscription on the marker and the father elected "Shot at Dawn". The government decided that such an emotive phrase would not be used in the future. Various religions such as Islam and Hebrew have their individual religious symbolism displayed on the markers. The New Zealand government decided that the option of having a religious or family's phrase was not offered to families of troops killed in action. In the case of the Christian cross this is either a separate cross engraved above the name of the deceased or in some examples a larger cross with the regimental or service badge in its centre. The lingering effects of mustard gas [in WW1], physical and psychological
wounds often meant that service personnel died sometime after the peace treaty had been signed so deaths up to 1921 [WW1] and 1947 [WWII] resulting from war wounds gives entitlement to a CWGC grave.
In cemeteries containing more than 40 CWGC headstones there is a mounted white stone cross with an inverted sword on the cross known as The Cross of Sacrifice. The height varies to indicate the number of headstones, the largest in size being at the CWGC sites in France and Belgium. It has been government policy since the First World War that the bodies of servicemen killed in action overseas were buried in that theatre of war and very few were returned to their native land. However since the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq bodies have been returned to the UK as desecration of the burial sites remain a possibility as the fighting continues.
Apart from the servicemen killed in action the families of the overseas cemetery ground staff who care for the sites are also given the white milestone graves.
In some cemeteries and churchyards the war graves are in a designated area but in other cemeteries the graves intermingle with the normal headstones found in a cemetery. in a few cemeteries such as at Netley in Hampshire [site of the former Royal Victoria Military Hospital] German prisoners who died in the hospital share the site with the deceased British servicemen.
In many cases families chose not to use an "official" marker and had the details recorded on a private family grave. Where the detail has weathered badly or very sadly damaged through vandalism, families can still approach the CWGC and they install a "milestone" marker on top of the existing stonework.
Cross of Sacrifice at Bedford
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